Balance of Power
by Lunare Valhart
Summary: [Crossover w Bomberman Jetterz spoilers for gameseries][Kaitaka, implied others.] The Bladebreakers are in over their heads when Max finds strange creatures in his window one night. Mad scientists are one thingbut aliens after their bitbeasts?


_LV: In honor of the series' end, I present this baby! I salute you, BMJ! You will always be a favorite in my heart!_

_Aya: I salute you as well, but because you actually succeeded in making LV fangirl something!_

_LV: I'm telling you, I _do not_ fangirl anything! …The fact I squeak whenever Birdy's hair's down or when Mighty appears means nothing!_

_Aya: Yeesh, you're _still_ in denial?_

_CL: I don't mind. Shirobon's cool._

_Kenny: I don't mind, either. Sonbre's actually been leaving us alone for a while now!_

_LV: Oh, uh… I think there's a good reason behind that (Or three.)_

_Max: …What's that supposed to mean?_

_LV: You'll see._

_Extra Note: If you haven't seen the series Bomberman Jetterz, or don't know which character is which, go to this site: ( www . angelfire . com / rings / dreampolis / characters . html ) You'll see the main characters and their bios, most of which will make an appearance in this story. You can also hear clips of their voices._

* * *

The night was peaceful, just right for a good rest after a long day. The light from the half-moon was brilliant, easily seen even beyond the city lights. Crickets could be heard chirping a lullaby outside, and the occasional car passing would silence the natural orchestra for a few brief moments before the music started up once more.

A small shadow crept along the wall of a building, peering around nervously as it gauged any possible dangers lurking. When its search came fruitless, it heaved a soft sigh and turned to look back with a beckoning gesture.

Two more small shadows shuffled out of hiding, and the now-three continued forward in a merged form. The sound of soft snoring caused the one up front to abruptly come to a halt, and they crashed together into a pile. The one at the bottom wriggled in annoyance, glowering at the other two.

Crawling back to their feet, the shadows climbed one on top of the other, the window above them their goal. A headlight from a passing car caught a large violet eye and a flash of white cloth, but they continued to wriggle up onto the windowsill and peer inside.

Curled up in the blankets of the bed was a teenage boy, his mop of blond hair spread over his pillow haphazardly and pale features calm. The shadow at the top of their miniature totem pole pulled a small device out, earning itself a small, quiet chime.

"Hige higehige hi!" Its partners immediately perked up.

"Hige? Hige hi-ge!"

The third breathed a sigh of relief. "Hige… Higehige-hi hige."

The boy groaned, causing them to freeze in place. Whether it was due to a dream or a disturbance, the boy shifted in bed and groggily opened bleary blue eyes. The shadow in the window gulped.

There was a moment of stunned silence as focus quickly came to the youth's eyes and he gaped wordlessly at the face in his bedroom window.

"…Holy…!"

"Hige!"

The shadow tumbled down as the bottommost member of their tower immediately scrambled away, all three scattering as the blond teenager pulled open the window and continued to gape after them in shocked astonishment.

"What the hell?!" He declared after they had completely vanished into the night. Receiving no answers (not that he was expecting any) the blond sighed and yawned, shaking his head incredulously. "The Chief's gotta stop pushing us so hard in training. It's making me see things."

With that, Max Mizuhara wriggled back into his blanket cocoon and drifted off once more, dreams filled with creatures in black with large, violet eyes, talking in a strange language he didn't think he'd ever understand.

**

* * *

**

Balance of Power

_All characters and places from Bomberman Jetterz are © HUDSON (et al)_

_All characters and places from Beyblade are © Aoki Takao_

Crossover w/ Bomberman Jetterz (spoilers for games and series). Mild Kaitaka, implied AniTori, et al. The Bladebreakers find themselves in over their heads when Max finds strange little men in black peering through his window one night. After all, crazed scientists are one thing – but _aliens_ after their bit-beasts?

* * *

He hadn't known exactly what compelled him to tell the others of his midnight scare, but Max was really starting to regret it.

"Guys, I _swear_ I'm serious!" He exclaimed when another round of snickers died down, "I saw some freaky little thing outside my window last night!"

Rei managed to swallow his laughter and, with as straight a face as he could muster, answered, "Of course there was, Max. You don't lie about things like Tyson tends to do." Tyson made an insulted face as Kenny slapped his forehead with a groan.

"You're being ridiculous, Max!" The brunette boy argued heatedly. "You clearly were dreaming and thought you saw something! It probably was just a stray cat that got startled when you moved!"

"I don't know _what_ it was exactly, Chief," Max defended himself, feeling slightly foolish at the immature turn the conversation had taken, "but I think I'd know what a startled cat looks like!"

Hiromi, to the side as usual, rolled her eyes. "Max, maybe it was just a bad mix of food and exercise before bed. Because frankly – and I _really_ hate to admit this – Tyson's little excuse is more believable that yours."

"It's not an excuse!" The dark-haired boy huffed irritably. "Gramps really _does_ plans on dragging me out with him to play cards with his friends this afternoon!"

Rei cocked a brow at him suspiciously. "And he needs you there… why?" Tyson groaned in annoyance.

"Because he's terrible at cards and he's too stubborn to admit it!" The youth then grumbled, "Old coot's convinced his friends cheat…"

"…So, he wants you to play referee?"

"Yeah."

"If you ladies are done gossiping," Kai frowned as he stepped into the yard, his good eye darting around to ensure everyone was present, "we're going to start practice now. Mizuhara, Kinomiya! You two up first!"

The two youths sighed and stepped up to the dish, preparing for another intense practice session that would leave everyone wiped at the end.

* * *

In the heart of a small wooded area outside of town, a strange-looking craft was parked, oddly unnoticed by any passer-bys taking a morning jog. The round craft was dark and metallic, accented in silvers and a streak of yellow along its central perimeter. Along the upper dome, a golden HG flagged by twin blue marks at the bottom marked the ship's origin and owner.

Inside, a tall blond man with both facial hair and a swept-back mullet turned to stare down at the black-clad trio standing at attention before him. He trusted these three; they had sworn complete loyalty to him, compared to the others who took his orders but otherwise would listen to anyone higher-ranked than them.

And that was just about everyone.

A blond brow rose from behind dusty-red sunglasses. "Eh? You found one of the Holy Beasts?"

The three all chimed, "Higehige!" He grinned, then held out a large gloved hand.

"Great news! Hand it over!" He faltered at their sudden nervous expressions, avoiding eye contact with him. "You… _did_ get it, didn't you?"

The first of the three managed a weak, "Higehigehige hige hi-hige…"

His expression darkened and he snapped at them, "What do you _mean_, "the kid saw you before you could grab it"!?" They all whimpered an apology. "Don't "Forgive us, Mujyou-sama!" me! We need to get our hands on those one-of-a-kind spirits before MAX does, or we'll be in for it! Bagura-sama is counting on us!"

As they cowered at his thunderous expression, Mujyou sighed irritably, recalling the events that led him to now. His good friend, Mechadoc – the head scientist of their organization, the Higehige-dan – had approached him with a grave expression and a small remote. He had gone on to explain that their leader, Commander Bagura, had asked him to deliver a very special mission for him to accomplish.

What he had learned was that Bagura had stumbled over some older documents and found that, on a steadily growing but still rather backwater planet called Earth, existed four strange spirits that possessed great power. They only existed on this planet, and each was unique in its own right and power; that alone made them right up the alley of the Higehige-dan, due to their infamous thefts of all things in the universe of which there was only one of its kind. But, if what Mechadoc claimed was true about these spirits…

"These Holy Beasts are _extremely_ powerful creatures, Mujyou-kun," the old scientist had emphasized. "It is said that they can even grant their holder a power unmatched if all are gathered."

…If that was true, and it was also true that MAX was running around again like the Jetterz claimed…

MAX. The mere mention of that man made his blood boil, though probably not quite as much as the Jetterz' members themselves; it also made a guilty twist in his gut every time he thought about the man's actions. He still believed the mysterious and dangerous Space Thief was the one trying to set him up for failure the months he was a member of the Higehige-dan. He was also the one to finish off the last of his Bomber warriors, though he did tend to find Thunder Bomber a bit more irritating than the rest. He was also rumored to be…

"Bagura-sama needs those Holy Beasts, most likely to defeat MAX once and for all!" He frowned at his three subordinates, who had calmed down enough to reasonably take orders once more. "If MAX gets his hands on them, there's no telling what'll happen. Find the rest tonight, and grab 'em when their guardians aren't looking!"

The three saluted, pumping their hands out to one side as they brought up a single leg, and responded determinedly, "Higehige!"

* * *

The abandoned monastery was covered in a thin blanket of fresh snow, sheets of ice from an earlier snowfall coating the large stained-glass windows and the walkways around the building. The evergreens on the lot were dull in color, dreary compared to the lush needles of trees further down the street. Those that passed the building felt chilled, and hurried to put distance behind them.

Once, this had been a reputed sanctuary for lost boys looking for shelter and a temporary home. It kept them off the street, it sheltered them and gave them food and water, it gave them all the love the Father could give weary young souls… Or, so the world thought.

Underneath the veneer of goodwill towards men and kindness was a crooked old scientist that masqueraded as the abbey's caretaker, using the name of a God he didn't truly care for to win over the public and have them cater to his needs; he never wanted for test subjects due to all the boys he had filing through his doors, and the catacombs beneath the old stone cathedral were perfect for both his laboratory and his soldiers-in-training to be hidden away from the public eye. However, private investigations had unearthed his experiments and his lies, and everything he worked so hard for crumbled before his very eyes as he was dragged away to prison for offenses one couldn't even begin to list.

Now, Balkov Abbey was empty, and would stay empty until the government figured out what to do with the land and monument.

He supposed he should have cared more, seeing a vague similarity between his own master and this particular scientist, but decided it wasn't worth dwelling over. He was here on a mission, not to examine history.

Slipping past the main gates and into the subterranean catacombs was child's play – he found it pathetic that this country supposedly held one of the strictest militaries on the planet, and these so-called "intense" security measures were so simple that only a moronic first-timer would fall prey to it. He was vaguely amused that the _scientist's_ security systems were more challenging, but if he could easily dodge bombs, a few weak laser devices weren't much to contend with.

He finally traced his way to the labs, and he stared up at the mainframe of the scientist's research computer. His master insisted that, despite the fact that the information passed to the blond moron _was_ viable, he wanted the information from _this_ laboratory for one sole reason: the scientist, having intensely studied their targets, had also dissected and analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of not only the creatures they sought, but their guardians, as well. It was an advantage that would be invaluable to him when he departed to obtain the targets.

Wordlessly, he stepped closer to the computer and immediately set to work on hacking into the scientist's files. Images and brief details of hundreds of different creatures came and left the screen, but none were of any interest to him. He still made note of the information, and would brief his master about it before leaving to see if it was of any interest to him.

Finally, he found the information he was looking for. Opening the file, he was presented with four different files on four different young boys and the creatures they guarded. As he downloaded the data, his eyes took in their appearances and lingered momentarily on one.

"So," he wondered aloud, knowing no one would hear him – and on the off-chance something did, it would be mistaken as part of the computer system. "These are the sacred Holy Beasts and the children who have managed to control their power."

As the computer chimed to alert the task's end, he shut down the system once more and walked back out to navigate the catacombs to search for one last item located somewhere on the grounds, the buckles on his boots clinking against each other and the dim light in the halls catching cold red corundum as he passed.


End file.
